Civilization Ends at the Waterline: 2016 IMB Piracy Report

“It was the Law of the Sea, they said. Civilization ends at the waterline. Beyond that, we all enter the food chain, and not always on top.” Hunter S. Thompson, Generation of Swine: Tales of Shame and Degradation in the ‘80s. Each year, about the time the last of the empty champagne bottles are rolling to their final destinations and the first of a menu of New Year’s resolutions are being broken, the ICC International Maritime Bureau (IMB) issues its annual report, “Piracy And Armed Robbery Against Ships”. As a lifelong maritime writer, I read about piracy in my youth and later actively reported on acts of piracy in various forms as a correspondent in Asia. Thus the annual IMB report on global piracy is a must read. The ICC International Maritime Bureau is a division within the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) vested with the mission of combatting “maritime crime and malpractice.” Throughout the late 1970s into the early 1990s, maritime crime ranging from the movement of Vietnam refugees – boat people, ship scuttling (Scuttle Inc.) to outright ship seizures and robbery had hit epidemic proportions in the South China Sea and other key waterways. The shipping industry – especially the insurance sector- were infuriated but felt powerless to combat the rise in piracy. This outrage prompted the creation of the IMB Piracy Reporting Centre (PRC) in October 1992 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, as a first step to stemming the tide. The idea was to have a central point for the exchange of information to create the necessary “intelligence” for a coordinated effort to combat maritime fraud. At The Waterline The IBM report period covered events from 1-January to 3-December 2016 and is confined to acts both “actual and attempted” against ships which includes tugs, barges, offshore oil support craft and yachts, as well as commercial and passenger ships. According to the IMB, there were 191 attacks in 2016. By way of comparison to recent years, 2016 was relatively tame. For example, in 2012 there were 297 incidents and no fewer than 245 during the next three years. Since piracy is spawned from social discord whether political, economic or otherwise, the numbers reflect a combination of opportunity versus mitigating factors. The mitigating factors can be everything from weather, changing transit patterns, vessel types, speed and anti-piracy measures such as surveillance, information exchange, Privately Contracted Armed Security Personnel (PCASP), escorts and in rare occasions, intervention.

The big winners (or losers) in terms of incidents in 2016 were Indonesia with 49 incidents and Nigeria with 36. However, the Philippines notched 10, India 14 and Peru 11 to round out the forbidding five. In terms of actual boarding or hijacking, there were 157 incidents in 2016 with Nigeria, 18 and India, 14 topping the list. Somalia, for decades a pirate haven made more (in)famous by the Maersk Alabama boarding, has seen a significant reduction in acts of piracy. There have been no successful attacks (two unsuccessful) since 2012 and consequently NATO terminated its “Ocean Shield” operation in December 2016, which has been in place since 2009. (There were two other earlier initiatives prior to establishment of Ocean Shield). However, the IMB still considers Somalia dangerous stating, the IMB “believes that a single successful hijacking of a merchant vessel, will rekindle the Somali pirates’ desire to resume their piracy efforts.” The report added these cautionary measures for vessels, “Somali pirates tend to be well armed with automatic weapons and RPG and sometimes use skiffs launched from mother vessels, which may be hijacked fishing vessels or dhows, to conduct attacks far from the Somali coast. Masters and ship owners are encouraged to follow the latest BMP procedures and ensure that the vessel is hardened prior to entering the High Risk Area. While transiting through these waters it is essential to maintain a 24-hour visual and radar watch.” In a profession that already has inherent risk from many quarters, the unfortunate crews bear the brunt of piracy problems. In 2016, 151 were held hostage and another 62 held under kidnapping/ransom plots. While the number held-hostage has dropped dramatically from 585 in 2012, the number held for ransom has risen from 26 in 2012 to 62 in 2016. Attacks Although the story of Captain Richard Phillips centers around the containership Maersk Alabama, from a statistical standpoint, containerships are not the principal target of piracy. Bulk carriers, tankers and chemical/product tankers lead the way. The latter vessel category tops the list nearly every year. In 2016 there were 56 attacks on chemical/product tankers – down from 82 attacks in 2013, 86 attacks in 2014 and 62 attacks in 2015.

• On 07 May 2016, a Cook Islands flagged Product Tanker MT Hai Soon 12 was attacked and hijacked by armed pirates while underway at position Latitude 02:04.48 South and Longitude 108:39.27 East, around 21 nm south of Pulau Serutu, Indonesia at approximately 2045 L T. The tanker while en route from Singapore to Sunda Straits was attacked and boarded by armed pirates. They took hostage all crew members and hijacked the tanker. As the Owners failed to receive the updates from the Master, they reported the incident to the 1MB PRC who had then reported and liaised with the Indonesian Authorities. The 1MB PRC also broadcast to all ships to keep a lookout for the missing tanker. The Indonesian Navy dispatched their patrol boats who had subsequently located and intercepted the hijacked tanker and rescued all crew members on board. Nine pirates were detained. All crew members reported safe. • On 01 April 2016, a Malaysian flagged Tug TB Massive 6 was attacked by armed pirates while underway at position Latitude 04:07.56 North and Longitude 118:55.76 East, around 17nm East of Pulau Sipadan, Sabah, Malaysia at approximately 1815 L T. Eight heavily armed pirates in a speed boat intercepted and boarded the tug underway. They opened fire at the tug and managed to board successfully. They stole crew personal belongings and kidnapped four crew members and escaped. The remaining crew members sailed the tug to the vicinity of Semporna and thereafter a MMEA patrol boat escorted the tug to a safe port. The kidnapped crew were released on 8 June 2016. • On 29 January 2016, a Liberian flagged Product Tanker MT Leon Dias was attacked and hijacked by armed pirates while underway at position Latitude 02:30 North and Longitude 005:35 East, around 110nm SSW of Bayelsa, Nigeria at approximately 2236 UTC. Pirates armed with guns attacked and hijacked the tanker. The tanker loaded with gas oil was en route from Lome to Bata. The Owner lost communication with the tanker and reported to the 1MB PRC, who immediately contacted and liaised with local and regional Authorities. The pirates shot and seriously injured one crew member during the incident. They destroyed and damaged the tanker’s communication equipment and kidnapped five crew members before escaping. The remaining crew members managed to sail the tanker to Benin where a Navy patrol boat assisted in the evacuation of the injured crew. The tanker was escorted to Cotonou anchorage for investigation. Trending Threats According to the IMB, an “emerging threat to merchant shipping” is in the Sulu Seas The IMB reported “12 crew have been kidnapped from two general cargo vessels underway and also an anchored fishing vessel in the last quarter.” The IMB noted that crews had previously been kidnapped from “slow and low” moving tugs and barges in three separate incidents in the first half of 2016, marking a worrying escalation of crew kidnappings in this area. The IMB also mentioned the Gulf of Guinea as a kidnap hotspot with 34 crew taken in nine separate incidents in 2016. Three vessels were hijacked in the Gulf of Guinea in 2016. Given the unrest in the region it isn’t surprising that there has been a spike in the number of reported incidents off Nigeria with 36 in 2016 compared to 14 in 2015. Nine of the 12 vessels fired upon occurred in Nigeria in 2016 - with a number almost 100nm from the coastline. Will 2017 be a better year? For the most part, piracy is trending downwards but should other issues pull attention and resources away from the threat, piracy will again take hold and ship-owners and crews will find they aren’t on top of the food chain.